Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1887-05-14
. EARLY LoGerHe nav,



one evening lately q succe..fu, .na
.no"n augusta lumber operator, whose loci.
"s.e grown gray 10 logging on the Kenneh..
aua VINO Is one of the best posted men T. N.
o's.e on lumber matters, talked Of old ,;m..
OF the palmy days when be VA. vo,,,
toiled in the Penobscot vood. ''
some forty years ago." said he. ",hs
~: ZIMMERMAN of the famous Penobsco,
Ss.on' winch furnished timber for dozen. ~
'es ana made Bangor the greatest lumhs,
~ ,he world, was Sam Smith. He "a.
g., VI 'ne most daring spectators in the
bs. ~ tnose days. He dipped into lum.
L;na peeu'Ations and in fact into about all
.inos OF operations. He possessed me-,
intimate acquaintance with the ,imher ,.nd '
ana 1t was said he could tell vhe,. go.
suck OF any value grew. Oftentime. way
oack IN the woods, men would be mot ill
Nooooy knew them, whence they came from
=! "nere they went 1t afterwards trans-
pireo they were Sam Smiths agents ON er.
piorihs Trips Sam, it was related bent +,
'oiuthlhous chart OF the woods for reference
~hlch nobody ever saw but himself. We'll
pam met with losses and one day failed and
hadn't cent in his pocket. All at once he
went from Bangor and for eight month. W a.
no. heard from What had become of the
oeIunct lumberman was not known.
but ne suddenly reappeared in the CITY a
lew Gays before there was to be an extensive
ianu SAFE, at which eleven townships of land
covered with heavy growth of valuable
sihDer, wereto be disposed of bv the State.
oan meanwhile loafed about he streets wear.
ing an old white hat crushed down over his
,orehead and at.ired in mean locking ,hre ad.
etn H.
eafoed that 1t was said colored man dunned
him for 30 and thr, atened to click" him II
he did not pay
The day Of the sale was approaching and
1t was said pool had been formed to obtain
the lands cheap, party Of long headed
iumoermen having Jtned drives to make a
dollar. You had better take Sam Smith in, ;
continued one OF the number. The rest all
laughed at the idea of taking a street loafer
into their counsels. Well the day came and
the sale commenced. The lumbermen were
all there. The sum of $4,000 was to be paid
down, third of the whole amount within
thirty days. Each of the men in the ring put
IN his bid. all of them ridicuiously low and a
sly wink went round. After all had fnished
their offers Sam Smith came 10 looking more
weatherbeaten than ever and bid slightly
over the other gentlemen. Let it go, agreed
the pool men, he can't paw a dollar. The
eleven townships were accordingly knocked
down to him, and Sam, running his hand
into the inside pocket of his old coat, pulled
forth capacious leathern pocket book stuffed
with bills of big denominations. This he
shook in the face of one of the enterprsin9
lumbermen who had come in to gobble up
the land; there said he, is more money
| than you are worth. my friend, and while
the dlscomitted bidders were swallowing
their chagrin he went forward, paid the
$4,000 and in addition offered to meet the one
third at once. OF course Sam got the land
and it placed him on his feet again 1t
afterwards transpired that Dave Pngree of
Salem was backing him and they realized
over million dollars on the lumber taken
off the 250,0 900 acres in those eleven town
ships"